What happens when two big #barges #collide? - http://clapway.com/2015/07/20/barge-collision-causes-oil-spill-near-houston-112/

A barge on the Intercoastal Waterway near Houston collided with another. The result was the first barge, carrying over 1 million gallons (>3 million liters) of petroleum naphtha, caught fire and spilled its contents into the waterway, creating a small oil spill. Fortunately, officials contained the situation and were able to get it under control quickly.

The Barge’s Oil Spill

The oil spill occurred after the barge collided with another ship. The collision resulted in a fire on the barge carrying the oil. This fire damaged the haul of the vessel and caused it to release its contents into the Intercoastal Waterway by Houston Texas.

The Houston Fire Department sent some of their fire boats out to the oil spill to put out the fire. The Coast Guard shut down a portion of the waterway around mile marker 348 near the Bolivar Peninsula. The closure has not halted ship traffic along the channel, fortunately.

The InterCoastal Waterway

The Intercoastal Waterway is one of the most important oil shipping lanes in the United States. The channel lets cargo ships and barges get crude oil to more than a tenth of the nation’s oil refining stations. It also helps with the export of refined fuels to international markets. It runs from New Jersey, all the way down the East Coast, down around Florida, through the Gulf of Mexico, and ending near Texas. The waterway is around 3,000 miles (~4,800 kilometers) and is no stranger to collisions and has had an oil spill or two in its time.

Previous Incidents

This past June, there was an incident that caused a 23,000 gallon (~87,000 liters) oil spill in the waterway. Also, in March, there were two collisions within a week. Parts of the waterway were briefly closed on all of these events. Small collisions are not uncommon as the waters can get quite busy and crowded during certain times of the year. If an oil spill occurs somewhere on the waterway, there are procedures to contain the pollution and clean it up as soon as possible.

Officials say that there should not be any lasting environmental ramifications from this most recent oil spill as it was tended to quickly.

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Barge Collision Causes Oil Spill near Houston

The #crudeoil spill in #California is still being cleared. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/12/southern-california-tests-the-tar-balls-256/

Following the rupture of the an underground pipe from the Plains All American Pipeline — a Texas based company — on March 19th that spilled 101,000 gallons of crude oil, cleanup efforts have been in effect. Tar ball samples were taken Thursday the 9th and Friday the 10th along the coastline from Gaviota to Newport Beach, a distance of 170 miles (~274 km) apart.

The Crude Oil Incident

On Tuesday, May 19th of 2015, an underground pipe burst open. The result was up to 101,000 gallons (382,327 liters) of crude oil spilling out of containment, contaminating everything it touched. A fifth of this oil, about 20,200 gallons (~ 76,466 liters) flowed into the ocean, killing hundreds of birds and sea creatures. One species that was largely affected by the oil is the sea lion. Many Californian beaches had to be closed down.

How large was the incident?

Tar balls, or solidified lumps of crude oil that wash up on shores, were and are still being found from Ventura County to Los Angeles County on Redondo Beach, a distance of over 100 miles. These tar balls have been routinely washing up on beaches since the incident, and because it is almost a constant, specialists are able to use “fingerprint” testing to tell from where the oil is leaking from.

This testing analyzes the type of oil and various trace anomalies that would form based on where it came from. The tar balls are then determined from where they originated so the leaks can be fixed.

How long will it take to clean up?

Officials cannot be certain the exact timeframe it will take to fully clean up the spill. Crude oil is quite tricky when it comes to cleaning. Because it can seep back underground and can get on animals who would then spread it out, it’s hard to say exactly. However, the people in charge of the cleanup efforts have said that most of the spill is already cleaned up and that it shouldn’t be too much longer before they can declare everything back to normal. Even though it is mostly clean, a few crews are still scraping the oil off of rocks in Refugio State Beach.

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Southern California Tests the Tar Balls